Principle

Overview 

The Faculty of Medicine (FoM) is committed to ensuring the appropriate, coherent, and coordinated delivery of the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) program and Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) training programs. Faculty teaching evaluation is an essential part of that commitment. This document provides an overview of program evaluation practices for faculty teaching in the M.D. program and PGME training programs.

Purpose

To outline how the FoM’s requirements and processes regarding faculty teaching evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the following requirements: 

• Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) Element 8.5; 
• Canadian Excellence in Residency Accreditation (CanERA) General Standards of Accreditation for Residency Programs Element 9.1; and
• Student Rating of Courses and Instruction Administrative Policies and Procedures. 

Faculty teaching evaluation is an anonymous and confidential process. As such, it cannot address individual instances of bullying, harassment, or intimidation. Learners who may be experiencing bullying, harassment, or intimidation are encouraged to access resources outlined in the Policy for the Prevention and Resolution of Learner Mistreatment.

Scope

Clinical and Non-Clinical Faculty members teaching in the M.D. program and Postgraduate training programs at Memorial University (Memorial).

Definitions

Administrative Head — The supervisor of a faculty member, either a Discipline Chair, Division Head, Associate Dean, or the Vice-Dean, Medical Education and Faculty Affairs, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University.

Block — A section of learning within a specific course in Phases 1-3 of the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) program, normally four (4) weeks in duration.

Clinical Faculty — A physician in clinical practice with a full-time (tenure track; contractual) or part-time academic appointment with Memorial University.

Education Specialist — The administrative staff member responsible for overseeing program evaluation at the Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University.

Learner — Individual registered in the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) program or a Postgraduate Learner registered in a Postgraduate training program at Memorial University.

Non-Clinical Faculty — An individual with a full- time (tenure track; contractual) or part-time academic appointment with Memorial University who is not a physician in clinical practice.

Rotation (Faculty Teaching Evaluation Policy) — An interval of clinical training of a specific duration integrated into a training program. In this policy, the term Rotation is used to describe training experiences in UGME (Phase 4) and PGME.

Policy

1.0 General Provisions 

1.1 Clinical and Non-Clinical Faculty members teaching in the M.D. program and postgraduate training programs will be evaluated. 

1.2 Learner anonymity must be ensured throughout the evaluation process. Evaluations completed by fewer than three (3) Learners will not be sent to the faculty member. 

1.3 The Education Specialist for the Program Evaluation Subcommittee (PESC) will manage faculty teaching evaluations. 

2.0 Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) Phase 1-3 

2.1 Clinical Faculty are evaluated at the end of each Block during a Phase. Clinical Faculty teaching evaluations are administered by the Education Specialist for PESC under the authority of the Undergraduate Medical Studies (UGMS) committee. 

2.2 Non-Clinical Faculty are evaluated at the end of each Block during a Phase. Non-Clinical Faculty teaching evaluations are administered by the Education Specialist for PESC under the authority of the UGMS committee. 

3.0. UGME Phase 4 

3.1. Clinical Faculty are evaluated on an ongoing basis during Phase 4 clinical Rotations. 

3.2. Clinical Faculty teaching evaluation forms are released to the Learners by the Academic Program Assistants (APAs) in each clinical discipline. The collation and distribution of the results are managed by the Education Specialist for PESC under the authority of the UGMS committee. 

4.0. PGME 

4.1. Clinical Faculty are evaluated on an ongoing basis during Rotations. Clinical Faculty teaching evaluation forms are released by the training program. The collation and distribution of the results are managed by the Education Specialist for PESC under the authority of the PGME committee. 

5.0. Low Performance Evaluation Results 

5.1. A Clinical Faculty Low Performance evaluation result indicates that a teaching-related problem has been identified by a Phase 4 Learner or postgraduate Learner. Any single score of “1” , if narrative comments have been provided to support the score, constitutes Low Performance. At the discretion of the Chair of PESC, Low Performance may also be identified based on narrative comments alone.

Procedures: